Abstract Painted Scarf :: Gift & Wear

At our cores, we are creators, not happy unless we have a project, or twelve, to keep our hands and minds working. While we love creating on my own, we find that when we invite our children to create with us, the experience is even richer and more fulfilling, for us all.

This painted scarf project is perfect for collaboration!

The set-up is simple, the act of creation is novel and unique, and the finished product doesn’t scream “made-by-kids.”

Not only is it a perfect project for the little ones to make for themselves – they always take such pride in being able to use (and wear!!!) their work – it also makes the perfect gift. Something handmade for the little ones to give to the special people in their lives.

You Will Need

What to Do

First cut your fabric to size. For a regular style scarf, we like 60 inches by 15 inches. If you want to turn yours into an infinity-style scarf, 72 inches by 28 inches would be about right.

Find an area in your home that is a bit larger than your scarf – we ended up using the floor! Cover it in newsprint or butcher paper. Tape the paper to the surface. This will give you a good space to work and will keep the project as mess-free as possible.

Then, tape the fabric, making it slightly taut, onto the paper. You may want to add some more lines of tape across the scarf. Do this for both effect (we made diagonal stripes) and ease. If the fabric is too large between taped portions, it may bunch as the little ones begin painting.

Add some paint to the paper plate, spread it out with a paint brush and drive the car through the paint.

Start making tracks onto the scarf!!

Don’t let your little one have all the fun, get a car for yourself and drive with them. We had so much fun with our little ones – driving (and crashing) all over the scarf!

Keep going until you like what you see!

Heat-set your fabric paint according to the manufacturers instructions.

You’re done! Keep it as a traditional scarf or sew it up into an infinity scarf, it’s up to you! Now the biggest choice will who to give all your beautiful scarves to (and which you will keep for yourselves!!)

Explore More

What else could you use to make prints on the scarf? What happens if you use another color?
What else could you print onto? Give it a try!

Make Connections

Who would you like to give the scarf to? Why?
Think about a gift you’ve received in the past. What made it special?

This is such a great project! I love projects where kids can really do most of the fun part and end up with something to gift that the recipient would actually use and enjoy (not just love because your child made it). This is the perfect project heading into Christmas!

The best part too is that you can first paint on big pieces of fabric, then cut it to make the scarves. I also highly recommend playing with different colors of paint – it’s really just so fun! We made my sister a deep blue scarf with a lighter blue track pattern on it that I still love!!

My 2 little guys (ages 2 & 5) and I just made one of these for their Grami for Christmas. I think she is going to love it and I’m having a really hard time not making one for myself too! :) But I just reminded my 5 year old that Christmas is about giving, not about what we get for ourselves….. but they are so cute!!!

While this is the season of giving – self care is important too, and you wouldn’t want your own neck to get cold, right? ;) In all honesty, Danielle and I each own 2+ of these scarves – they are just so fun and easy to make!

This is very creative and fun idea. Aside from making your own scarf, you can have fun by painting it using your son’s car. This is so much fun for you and for your little ones. Thanks for sharing this tutorial. Glad to visit your blog!

I just wanted to let you know; I plan to do this! I haven’t yet, but I will be ;) I’m so excited about it! I think the 2 year old I nanny would LOVE this with his trucks, just like yours did. Did you create this idea? I think it is just um…. genius! I just created my new blog and my first real post was 24-Mothers Day Gifts that don’t Break the Bank! I shared this, and wanted to let you know in case you need any additional kind of credit/linking.

Oh! Thanks so much! We’re so very glad you like it. Yes, we did come up with the idea! I’m a printmaker and one day I was looking at some fabric and ink on my studio shelves, wondering how I could get my little guy involved in the process. Voila!

Hi, I love this so much and so do my kids, thank you for this wonderful idea.My only question is, is the paint supposed to go through to other side or did you just do this on one side? Mine went through just a little bit. Thank you again so much.

@Gianna, We’re so glad you like the project! The paint does seep through just a little bit, but when you sew the fabric into a tube to make the infinity scarf, you no longer see the bleed-through. You can also try using a bit less paint (though that’s tough when you’re working with an exuberant little one!)

Trackbacks

[…] Sometimes it’s hard to find gifts that your kids can make without them looking…. well looking like a kid made it. The brilliant ladies at crafting connections came up with this idea to use a toy car to create a fun, artistic looking scarf that grandma will be proud to wear! Get all the details (including what fabric and fabric paint to use at Crafting Connection’s Abstract Painted Scarf Tutorials. […]